The Adventures of Ben 10 and Evie-May
by Rabid Fairie
Summary: A series of Oneshots featuring Ben 10 and his alien 'girlfriend' Evie-May. The two share trials and tribulations, joy and hope. In this big universe, anything's possible and all they know for sure is that they'll always be there for each other. Right? Ben/OC "Alien Force" verse. Not chronological. I promise good grammar, spelling and cute moments. Sometimes. R&R.
**A/N: This Fic is basically a series of Oneshots between Ben Tennyson (Ben 10: Alien Force verse) and my OC, Evie. Some will be set during particular episodes and many probably will not. Please review! I enjoy constructive criticism and praise *smiles endearingly*. I'd say 'no flames' but, hey, who am I kidding, I'll take anything.**

 **Notes: This one is set during "Ben 10: Alien Force" Season 3 Episode 17 "Above and Beyond."**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one but Evie and whatever I do with her.**

 **Word Count: 7233**

 **Rated T for language and sexual references, because there will be language and sexual references! Eventually.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – Above and Beyond**

Evie is bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Leaning back on her chair, the pale green alien girl picks at her white nails. She taps the white dots that pattern her body. She braids, then un-braids, then re-braids her snowy hair. She sighs, the lonely, awkward silence of space surrounding her is interrupted only by the furious clicking of the keyboard by Helen, a blue-skinned alien with fast feet and a long tail.

Next to her, second-in-charge Pierce is silent and scowling, arms folded. She glances from him to her nails, wondering if she should break the silence. Evie looks at the alien's long spines and decides a potential meltdown just isn't worth it.

Her dark green eyes travel across the room to Alan, the third member of their little party. The flaming Pyronite stands awkwardly separate. Her heart warms with fondness at the sight of him – he's probably the least egocentric person on this ship, though he can be a little whiny.

Speaking of egos … her bored mind wanders to Ben Tennyson. It had been about a month since she'd last seen the cocky hero and she was really starting to miss him. The two had gone from wary allies, to dear friends to – well, not exactly 'boyfriend/girlfriend' but they were definitely a couple – in a few months and, honestly, she had never been happier. Spending time with him talking, drinking smoothies, watching Earth television … she reckons it was the best way to spend time in the entire universe.

Pierce sighs and spins his chair to face Helen, arms folded and face scrunched up in annoyance. Alan moves in close to the blue girl, leaning in to stare at the computer, "Helen, anything?" he asks hopefully.

"Nothing," she replies, bemused. The computer beeps and Alan returns the side of the room.

Evie groans with disappointment, "what are the chances that you will find something, like, _really_ soon? Because I am so bored that I'm considering ejecting myself into space for giggles."

"Evie, this is probably the only thing that I can't speed up," Helen huffs.

The doors opened to reveal the fourth member of the group, Manny, a giant red-skinned boy with four heavily muscled arms and a whole lot of attitude. He enters the room and groans, "ugh, I'm sick and tired of waiting around! Let's go out and find some action."

Pierce immediately spoke up, "no way, Manny, the Wrench told us to wait _here._ "

"So what?" Manny exclaims turning his four orange eyes to Pierce.

Pierce stands up and stalks towards Manny, " _So_ when he's not here, _I'm_ in charge. You wanna go on a field trip? First you have to get by me."

Manny sneers, "sounds like almost ten minutes of pure entertainment." He cracks his knuckles threateningly.

Helen was between them, pushing them apart, in under a second.

"Stop it, both of you," she says, though she turns specifically to face Manny.

"Yeah, this ship is uncomfortable enough without us having to deal with crushed skulls and testosterone poisoning," Evie snarks. Pierce glares at her, she sticks out her tongue.

"Besides, what if Max sees us fighting like this?" Alan asks nervously.

"Oh, grow a spine, Alan," Manny mocks.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" defends Pierce.

"Do you always have to be such a douche?" Evie exclaims, walking over to join them.

"Do you _always_ have to put your two cents in?" he retorts.

"Do you-"

Evie's reply is cut off by an alarm and the five turn to the computer, Helen is over there instantly.

"It's an encrypted incoming message," she reports.

Evie and the boys exchange glances before eagerly running over, "who's it from?" she asks.

"I don't know."

The screen fuzzes with static before a shaky image appears. Max Tennyson stares at them, adjusting the camera and speaking in rushed, anxious tones, "I'm at Plumber Research Satellite Delta. Something's happening up here. It's Ben, he's-"

They hear an ominous metallic thud and Max's eyes flick from the camera, "no time to explain. We need your help."

Evie's dark eyes are wide with shock.

"Get here as soon as you-" There's are crash. Static. A glimpse of Max. Static. A panicked cry. Static.

"By the stars …" Evie breathes.

The image doesn't reappear.

Helen's hands fly over the keyboard, "I've lost the signal."

"Well, find the signal!" Manny yells.

"What do you think I'm trying-" the system beeps, "wait!" she looks to the monitor, "something's coming through."

The static clears and a fuzzy image of the incredible, hulking Humungousaur fills the shot. He effortlessly tosses aside a heavy metal table.

"Ben?" whispers Pierce.

Humungousaur hunches over, turning to stare at them and the Omnitrix dial shins toxic green on his chest – there could be no doubt it was Ben.

"Are the little Plumber's helpers spying on me?" he mocks, his voice deep and thick. His face fills the screen, "stay out of this! If you get involved, I promise Grandpa Max isn't the only one who's gonna get _hurt!"_ he draws back one gigantic fist and with a fierce grunt punches the camera.

The line goes dead.

Evie feels cold.

"It can't be Ben, I mean, he'd _never_ do something like this. He's spent most of his life saving people! And he'd _never ever_ hurt Max! It has to be some kind of trick. Maybe he's pulling a prank – he never did get how far was too far. Or maybe it's mind control? It's gotta be mind control-"

Evie's rambling, desperate to understand because, right now, nothing is making sense. It's like her whole world has been turned on its head. Pierce puts a hand on her shoulder and she cuts off, pressing her lips together and clasping her hands together to keep them from quivering.

This does not bode well.

* * *

They're all sitting in the cockpit, en-route to the satellite, and Evie is futilely wishing things would just go back to boring. Boring, safe, normal. Back to when Magister Tennyson wasn't fleeing from his rampaging grandson. Back to when Ben _wasn't_ a rampaging grandson …

Boring, safe, normal. Yeah, she's definitely missing that.

They're flying over Earth, towards its moon and the station when Alan speaks up, "I know it's kinda late – and you guys can totally ignore me – but I still think we should have waited for help."

"Gwen and Kevin are on a mission halfway across the galaxy," Pierce says from the co-pilots seat.

"By the time they get back, it might be too late," Helen explains as she flies their little ship.

"We should at least tell them," Evie mutters, "they should know."

She's curled up on the same metal bench as Alan, arms wrapped around her body and head lowered as she struggles to absorb the situation.

"We'll handle this ourselves," Pierce continues, ignoring Evie.

"Who needs help?" snorts Manny. He reclines back against the wall, resting two of his arms behind his head, "it's five against one."

"It's five against _Ben._ " Alan argues.

"Don't be stupid, Manny," Evie scowls.

"He taught us practically everything we know," continues Alan.

"Not to mention he clashes with Warlords like _Vilgax_ _himself_ and stops entire _invasions_ on a regular basis," Evie follows on, "'five against one,'" she mocks, "do you honestly think five _rookies_ are gonna be a challenge for him?"

Manny leans forward, eyes flashing, "do you wanna _fight_ me, Evie?"

"Alright, knock it off back there," Pierce calls, "we did pretty well before we met him. Anyway, Max have been training us too," he doesn't sound incredibly confident.

 _It's like he's still trying to convince himself,_ Evie thinks.

"And now he's in trouble, so we help. Case closed," Manny says doggedly.

"Ben would never really hurt Max," Helen murmurs.

"He sure sounded like he would," Alan says anxiously, "for all we know, he's been brainwashed."

"Stars, I hope so," declares Evie, "because if he hasn't, that means he's actually betrayed us and I can hardly bear the thought."

There's a solemn silence as they all ponder that particular idea.

Suddenly, Manny snorts, "Maybe he's just gotta lay eggs again."

Alan sighs and Evie sinks further into her seat.

"That would be delightfully anticlimactic," she admits, smiling slightly.

"We find Max," Pierce decides, "he'll know what to do. Until then-"

The console beeps.

"Proximity alarm," Helen observes the flashing blue button, "we're here."

Alan, Manny and Evie head to the front to peer through the windows, each hoping to get a view of the satellite.

"Plumber's Research Satellite Delta."

"It's huge," Evie exclaims, "Max and Ben could be anywhere."

"What's it for?" Alan wonders.

"To store technology too dangerous to keep on Earth," Pierce explains.

"I wonder what they were doing there? Is it possible they ran into some sort of mind control technology, or something, and that's why Ben's gone Looney Tunes?" Evie suggests.

"It's possible, but unlikely," Pierce says carefully.

They fly into the hanger and the giant door shuts behind them with a great _clang._

They're in.

* * *

They walk together from the hanger down a metal corridor. It's dark, eerie and badly damaged. Helen moves further down the hall and picks up a keyboard that's hanging from the wall, she begins typing.

"We shouldn't be touching stuff!" hisses Alan.

"It's a remote access terminal, I think I can use it to tap into the satellite systems," Helen replies.

"Can you turn on the lights first; this place gives me the creeps."

Evie was only half-joking.

Helen continues taping away while looking up at the screen, soon enough, the monitor fizzles and Max appears. They quickly gather around to watch, each silently relieved to see he was ok.

"If you're seeing this message then you've made it to the satellite. Good work. I'm ok, but I'm hiding out in the far end of the satellite. Come and get me, but _stick together_. The five of you need to work as a team."

Helen returns to typing, and a rough map replaces Max's message. A red dot pings away in the middle.

"I'm on it," Helen says, before whooshing off.

"Wait!" Pierce called raising an arm after her, "Magister Tennyson said-"

Seeing it was impossible, he drops his sentence and his arm.

"This isn't good," Evie grimaces, "when people split off in Earth horror movies …"

"Don't finish that sentence," shudders Alan, "I don't wanna know."

"Come on, let's go get her," snaps Manny, "we're wasting time."

One member less, they take off down the hallways, all quietly hoping Helen and Max were alright …

Evie can hear commotion up ahead and a sick feeling settles in her stomach, she exchanges a glance with Manny. She's somewhat surprised to see her own concern reflected in his four eyes and with a slight jolt, she realises he's actually _worried_ about Helen. This powerful, egotistical, brash, _rude_ jerk, is actually _worried_ about someone else. Impulsively, she grabs one of his many hands and tries to convey that she understands and that – maybe – she's a little sorry about how rudely she treats him. She hasn't exactly been acting kindly and she regrets that she didn't really give him a chance.

He almost recoils a first, surprised and a bit embarrassed but after an awkward moment, he squeezes gently – to show her _he_ understands – before letting go. She offers him a smile and he nods a little and just like that, they have an unspoken truce.

They enter the crammed room. Massive boxes are stacked high all throughout the place and there, among them, is Helen, collapsed on the ground and Evie can't suppress a gasp.

"Helen, are you ok?" asks Alan as Manny gently helps her up.

She groans and rubs her blue forehead, "it was Ben, something's wrong with him, he-"

"He's toast!" Manny interrupts viciously. He raises a clenched fist, "Which way did he go? I owe him a beating."

"I didn't see, but, he couldn't have gotten far," Helen replies. The pair began to run off.

"Wait," Pierce looks frustrated, "Max said stick together."

They pause and look back at the other three. "Manny and I work better as a team …" she trails off, before continuing, "we'll find Ben, you find Max."

"Does no one remember the conversation we had on the way here?" Evie exclaims, feeling as frustrated as Pierce looked. Manny and Helen exchange a glance before running off, ignoring both Evie's comment and Pierce's final cry of, _"Helen!"_

Evie huffs, "well, now that we've lost the dynamic duo …"

"It's just us," Pierce finishes. He frowns, "If Max isn't here, where would he go?"

"Well, what if …" Alan sighs and looks away, "no, no, never mind. Forget it, it's stupid."

"Go ahead, Alan," Pierce encourages gently and Evie nods reassuringly.

"The first time I met Ben, he tracked me through my Plumber's badge," he explains, pointing to the green badge set into his rocky chest, "I thought … maybe …"

Pierce looks from Alan's badge, to his face and grins, "you thought right. Good call."

Evie smiles, Alan might be a little shy, a little whiny, but he had the potential to do great things. It was moments like these where she was glad that she knew him.

Pierce pulls out his Plumber's badge and quickly brings up a map with a red dot indicating Max's position. He turns, "come on. This way."

They head off down the corridors, fortunately these ones aren't so dark. _Things seem to be getting better. I mean, sure, my 'boyfriend' has betrayed us all and turned into a raging lunatic and we're all probably gonna die up here but hey! Things could be worse-_

"There's some weird interference but we're getting close," Pierce says, focusing entirely on the map.

"What was that?" says Alan.

"He said we're getting close," Evie repeated. Then the door shut behind them, Pierce and Evie spin around but Alan is gone – trapped on the other side. Pierce bashes a fist against the door, but it's made of sturdy stuff and refuses to budge.

"Great," he mutters sarcastically. He raises his badge to his face, "Alan, it's Pierce, pick up!"

"It's not working," Evie murmurs.

"He's jamming the communications channel." They both stare at the door.

"There is no way that happened by accident," Evie considers, "Ben's gotta be watching us from somewhere. Security cameras, maybe? There's gotta be some kind of office or terminal where he can push all the buttons."

"Alan will have to fend for himself for now," Pierce decides. He shows his badge, "Ben can't jam the locater."

"Or maybe he doesn't _want_ to jam the locator, have you considered that?" Evie hisses, she feels like she could have a panic attack at any moment. She grits her teeth, "Have you considered that it might be a trap? Think about it, we have absolutely no idea what the hell's going on here."

She's panting now, eyes flashing wildly, "we haven't got a damn idea why Ben's acting like this, we have no idea where anyone is, hell, we don't even know if Max is _alive!_ "

He grabs her by her shoulders, "Evie, calm down, ok, it's gonna be ok. We've got this. Have some faith. Besides," he jokes, "you see him, you can always camouflage, you've got stealth on your side."

"Right, right," she mutters, taking in deep breaths, "we've got this, yeah, ok."

Evie closes her eyes and slowly unwinds her muscles. Pierce is right, if Ben catches them, she can just camouflage with the wall – it was a built-in ability of her race and Evie prides herself on her skill with it. "Ok, let's go."

And, once again, they're running through corridors one less their number.

* * *

They haven't gone far when another door closes between them and Evie is left alone.

* * *

Evie creeps into another room, it's dark with a few rows of shelves and crates littering the sides casting deep shadows across the floors. A shiver crawls down her spine, this whole damned situation was disturbing. Dust motes swirl in front of her eyes and she pushes the loose strands of her white braid from her eyes. The pale green humanoid proceeds further into the room, muscles tense to run, skin tingling in preparation for camouflage. She keeps her clenched fists slightly raised, half-waiting for an attack.

"Guys?" she called nervously, "you in here?"

There's no response and she feels stupid for walking so far into an empty room. If they didn't see her enter and reveal themselves, they were certainly not here. Why would they hide from her? The only person they need to hide from now is-

"Hello, Evie-dear."

Her heart clenches in panic, oh stars, she'd found him, no, he'd found _her_. Slowly, body stiff, she turned to face the voice and he's _right there._

Ben Tennyson. Relaxed as ever, he sits atop one of the many shelves, one leg hanging over the edge, the other bent so as to rest an arm carelessly across it. Her heart aches at the sight of his green eyes and cocky smirk.

"Ben," she breathes.

"Oh, darling, how I've missed you," he drawls as he jumps down to the floor. He takes a step towards her and Evie stumbles back because everything about him is _wrong._ The set of his shoulders, the swagger in his step, the gleam of his teeth … it's _predatory._ His voice … it's rich and deep and under any other circumstances would melt her like chocolate but now … right now, it's threatening and her heart beats with panic, not delight.

Evie isn't stupid. She's way out of her league. She wonders how she ever failed to notice what a formidable enemy Ben would make, how easily he could destroy her, destroy _everyone._

"What's the matter, sweetheart, you scared?" he's moving closer and Evie isn't scared, she's fucking _terrified._

"Ben, what's wrong with you? Why you acting like this?" she's desperate, begging for an answer.

He smirks and continues herding her towards the back of the room, "Sorry, baby, this is just the way the cookie crumbles."

He's forcing her into a corner, and she hesitates, fearful of being trapped. That's all the time he needs to strike.

He's right in front of her, a fist flies towards her face and she jerks back. Unfortunately, she's not fast enough and his fist clips her chin. She stumbles back with a shout, arms flailing to keep her balance as he follows the move with a sharp jab to the ribs.

She's moved a few steps back and collides with a crate and Evie is _just_ fast enough to jump onto it as he attempts to kick her in the stomach. Suddenly, she not scared, she's _angry_. How _dare_ he betray them? How _dare_ he make her feel scared, insignificant and small? How _dare_ he hurt her like this? How dare he _break her heart._

Fuelled by fury, Evie went on the offensive. She jumped from the top of the box towards Tennyson feet first. Her thighs clamp around his head and – using her speed and built up force – she twists, forcing him to spin and fall. Quick as she can, Evie springs from him before he collapses and rolls neatly before leaping behind the crates and camouflaging. Tennyson shouts with pain and surprise as he face-plants the cold metal floor.

Blood-pumping, she struggles to slow her rapid breathing and remain silent and still. She can hear him pick himself up.

"Baby, that was impressive but _very_ rude. Why don't you come on out and apologise? I promise I won't be angry …"

Evie most certainly will _not_ come out. All her anger is gone – leaving her sad and small. And scared. Very scared.

She needs to get out of this room.

Unfortunately, 'camouflaged' does not equal 'invisible' and if she moves in front of him, he will undoubtedly notice the displacement in the air.

She hears him moving and holds her breath … but he's not moving closer, he's moving towards the door. For a moment Evie is certain he will leave, until she hears the door whisk shut and Tennyson's footsteps return. Her heart sinks. He's still here.

"I know your around here somewhere," he murmurs in that dangerous drawl.

She can hear him moving and she tilts her head back, closing her eyes to rest for a minute. Evie rubs her ribs, they were sore from the jab and ached a little when she touched them.

 _Just a flesh wound._

As for her jaw … well that one hurt a little more. It only clipped her but she could _feel_ it bruising. Imagine what a solid punch would have felt like …

She grimaces. She can still hear Tennyson rummaging around for her. Evie couldn't stay here – he'd find her soon enough.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are …" he sang softly.

Evie shuffles to the edge of the box and peers cautiously around the edge, green skin still camouflaged. She spots him immediately. His back is to her as he wanders through the shelves. Her eyes roam to the closed door. It was probably just so he could hear her leave. She doubted it was locked but, then again, Tennyson definitely knew more about this satellite then she did. He almost certainly knew how to operate the locking mechanism. Hopefully not. If he did she was screwed.

Her dark eyes return to Tennyson, he is still searching, with his back to her and his face towards the door. Slowly, she creeps into the open, stepping lightly. Evie bites her lip. _I can't open the door with him over there, I'll be in reach when I reveal myself._

 _I'll just push him down, then open the door, find the others. That'll give me enough time to run … I hope._

Evie moves step by agonising step towards the door. Towards Tennyson. _Thank the stars he hasn't used the Omnitrix – I'm enough of a sitting duck without it._

Closer, closer, closer. Closer still.

She's right behind him now, holding her breathe, arms extended ... and …

Tennyson spins around, arm swinging to knock her down and Evie drops into a backbend with a shocked squeak to avoid being hit. She moves quickly, swinging her legs up to clip his jaw before she handsprings to her feet. No longer camouflaged, she stands panting.

He massages his chin while appraising her, "there you are …"

Evie's eyes are wide. This is not how things were meant to end up.

Tennyson flies forward, punching, kicking, jabbing. Forget going on the offensive, right now she's barely even blocking and dodging. Mind clouded with panic, she cops a punch in the ribs, a jab to the arm …

After a few terrible moments, she recognises the fighting style – he's just running through the basic moves for rookie training! She can defend this; she's done it with him a million times before! He _taught_ her these moves!

She blocks the next blow easily, kicking him in the stomach, dodging under the clumsy punch that follows to sprint towards the door.

 _Oh, stars please._

Evie almost faints in relief when the door whisks open. She sprints desperately down the hall, turning randomly, left, right, left, left-

Tennyson follows, she turns slightly and strangles back a scream. He had transformed into Spidermonkey and was now shooting rapidly after her. She turns through a few more corridors before ducking hastily into another room and quickly camouflaging. Evie holds her breath as he passes her.

There was no way she was going back out there.

She searches the room. _You'd think that since this station stores dangerous technology,_ _I'd have found something useful by now._ There are some empty crates but not really much else-

Bingo!

A vent. Right at the bottom of the wall, hidden behind a box. It's not big, but Evie reckons she'll fit. She also reckons that she has one minute tops before Tennyson realises he's chasing air.

She drops behind the box, crouching while she tears off the vent cover. Crawling in, she turns as much as she can to refit the cover and disguise her escape.

Evie crawls through the vent, it's cramped and every noise echoes and she's somewhat concerned Tennyson will hear her. She hasn't crawled very far when her knees and hands start getting sore. _This is not nearly as glamorous as it looks in the movies Ben and I-,_ she cuts that thought off quickly. Now was not the time to reminisce the past. _Those days are clearly over._

That thought hurts her more than any physical injury could.

She grits her teeth and keeps moving.

Then, the satellite shudders violently and Evie screeches as the vent tilts forward. She's sent sliding through the chute until the ship, thankfully, levels out.

 _What was that?!_

After a minute of stillness, she continues on her journey.

Evie's is starting to think the vent will never end when the metal in front of her becomes distinctly _different_. Just a few inches ahead of her, the vent curves into a steep diagonal. Like a very long, very dark slide.

 _Should I risk it?_

The way she sees it, she doesn't have much choice. Evie swings her legs in front of her to lie at the top of the nightmarish slide. She takes a few deep breaths. _In and out, in and out and … now!_

She slides down, braid whipping behind her head in the wind. She can feel every little bump in the metal running against her spine. It's wild and scary and so incredibly thrilling she resists the urge cheer.

And then she falls out of the ceiling and lands a something spikey.

"Ow!" she shrieks, leaping up and rubbing her back, "ow, ow, ow, _ow._ "

"Ugh," groans the spiky _someone._ Someone Evie recognises and has never been happier to see in her entire life.

"By the stars, Pierce! I can't believe I found you!" she looks around and quickly spots-

"Manny, Helen," she beams in relief, exhausted but happy.

She helps up Pierce, who brushes some non-existent dirt off his arm, "are you all ok?"

"Never better," Manny replies shortly, though he looks a little worse for wear.

"Have you seen Alan? The three of us were separated."

"Not since we left you guys," Helen says.

"We'll fan out and find him," Manny declares, already walking off.

"Yeah, great plan," Pierces scoffs, "we'll split up so Ben can pick us off one at a time."

"You got a better idea?"

"Yeah, we stick together until we find him!" Pierce exclaims in exasperation.

For once, Evie stays silent, watching with wary eyes as her friends argue.

"But I can cover more ground by my-" Helen's protest was cut off quickly.

"We stick. Together," he ground out, the spines on his face extending threateningly.

They all turn to Manny who scowls fiercely but remains silent.

"Well," Evie declares, "I think it's a wonderful plan."

* * *

Surprisingly, it doesn't take long to find Alan. And Tennyson.

Big Chill floats above the ground, he's goading Alan, mocking him, calling him weak.

Evie is angry, so is Helen.

"Don't listen to him, Alan!" she calls, before she collides with Tennyson at full speed, knocking him from the air, "he's just trying to get in your head!"

Big Chill flies back into the air, shooting ice at both of them. Helen quickly snatched up Alan and zigzagged away, dodging every shot.

Manny came to her defence. Firing four guns at the traitorous hero, Big Chill was soon forced to retreat, only to come face to face with Pierce.

"You had your chance, Ben," he says coldly while plucking two spines from his arms. He extends them and adopts a battle pose, "you don't get another one."

Tennyson turns to escape only to find all exits blocked. Evie stands before him with flinty eyes and a bruise on her jaw. His eyes seem to flick to the ugly mark before he laughs, and sinks through the floor.

"No!" Manny roars. He runs forward to where Tennyson disappeared and shoots wildly at the floor. Helen grabs his wrists and he stops shooting, "I had him! I had him and he got away!"

"No," insists Pierce, " _we_ had him. Don't you see? Separately we're no match for him, but together? Together, we sent him running!"

"Hey, he's right," Alan grins, "Ben ran away. From us!"

"Ok," Manny says, trying not to look to excited, "let's say I buy what your selling, now what?"

Evie laughs, "you know, guys, I'm starting to think we might survive this whole escapade."

"I still think I can tap into one of these terminals and use it to find Max," Helen says, "all we need to do is-"

The ship shudders and shakes wildly and Evie shouts as little bits of ceiling start to fall.

"Why does that keep happening?" Alan cries.

"Maybe it has something to do with Ben's plan," Manny offers.

"You think he's controlling the satellite?" Helen questions. She looks a kinda nervous, like

the idea had never occurred to her.

"Probably, he's been separating us with the doors and he _always_ seems to know exactly where we are …" Evie replies, frowning.

"There's only one way to find out!" declares Alan.

"Let's get to the bridge, Helen can check things from there," Pierce turns to the girl, "right?"

"Sure, plus, I can access the main computer and find Max."

They head down the corridors once more, but for the first time, they're a team and Evie can't help but smile.

* * *

Evie doesn't smile when they reach the bridge. The room is large and dark – lit only by the faint glow of the terminals and controls.

They slowly enter the room, every step clanging metallically against the floor.

"Took you long enough to get here."

Evie recoils. It's Tennyson, he's _here._ Her newfound confidence starts to evaporate.

"I was starting to feel a little neglected."

The pilot's chair turned to face them and reclining upon it … Tennyson, relaxed as ever.

Pierce straightens, refusing to be intimidated and Evie tries to copy his posture, but every bit of her very being is screaming to run.

"We already beat you once, Ben. Maybe you should start running." Pierce is mocking him, goading him and Evie wants to tell him to _shut up_ before Tennyson flies off the rails and kills them all.

"Maybe _you_ should wake up, Pierce. I've been three steps ahead of you all day." Tennyson's stalking towards them, "I've outflanked you, I've out powered you … and I haven't even been _trying._ "

Smirking he holds up the Omnitrix, still moving forwards, "this satellite is a dangerous place. I told you kids not to come here …"

Looking at the watch, Evie's jaw drops as she realises his intention, _Humungousaur, he's gonna use Humungousaur, oh stars, help us …_

Tennyson is bathed in green light as he transforms. Evie stares up at the growing figure. He _towers_ over them. He's so huge, he casts all five aliens in shadow _._

And Evie's back to feeling fucking terrified.

* * *

Tennyson crashes into the ceiling when he transforms, "Humungousaur!" he roars.

He stamps the ground and the group goes flying. Alan hurls fire at him and Evie runs towards Manny, "give me a boost!" she shouts. Manny doesn't hesitate, he boosts her with all four giant arms and Evie flips through the air as she flies towards Humungousaur. She collides – heel first – with his face.

Humungousaur stumbles slightly with an _oof_ as Evie sails past him, hitting and ground and rolling to absorb the impact. She began to run _to close, to close, I'm too close._

His tail rises in front of her, and she grinds to a halt. _To close._

Then his tail hits her and she's flying.

She's lying against the wall, eyesight blurry, ears ringing. Everything hurts.

Someone's in front of her, yelling in her face.

"Pierce?" she groans. "When did you get a twin?"

"Evie, you've gotta get up! Damn it, girl, get up!"

She looks past him. Manny is shooting at Humungousaur while Helen attempts to distract him.

"Get up!" he's grabbing her arms and hauling her to her feet, "come on, you've gotta move!"

Manny, Helen and Alan join them near the wall and Pierce pushes her towards Helen, "watch her!"

He turns to Alan, "Alan! Cover me!"

Alan shoots fire at Humungousaur and stares in shock when he barely flinches. Then, he charges them.

They scatter, Helen snatching up Evie and whisking her away. Humungousaur crashes into the wall and the satellite groans, shakes and tilts on its side. They now stand on its wall.

"Keep disciplined and follow my lead," Pierce orders as runs to the door, bits of ship falling around him.

"Thanks, Helen," Evie mutters, rubbing her head and shaking herself.

"We're running away!" exclaims Manny.

"No problem, Evie," replies Helen.

They quickly follow after Pierce as Humungousaur bursts from the ground behind them like a

demon from hell. He roars and snarls as he carries on destroying the satellite.

Manny instinctively pulls out his guns but Pierce grabs his wrist, "no! We're fighting as a team. Fight together and keep him off-balance!"

"Here," Manny snaps, tossing two guns to Evie, "just point and shoot."

Evie nods, grateful.

Alan sends a torrent of fire towards Humungousaur while Helen runs circles around him, trapping him in a tornado of fire. Evie fires the guns as Manny slams his fists into the ground, sending Humungousaur through the air. Pierce tosses a handful of spines to the floor, which Humungousaur's head lands on. He bellows in pain and Pierce runs. Humungousaur gives chase.

Pierce barely keeps ahead and he's soon tossed several feet when Humungousaur hits him with his tail. Pierce picks himself up and jumps over the small wall into the hanger, running to the doors. The minute Tennyson entered the hanger, the rest of the gang slid to the hanger controls, hidden by the small wall.

Humungousaur roars, he's got Pierce trapped now. Evie shoots at his back, desperate to distract him and when Humungousaur turns to snarl at her, Helen swoops in and grabs Pierce.

Manny closes the doors at the last second and Humungousaur dents the doors when he crashes into them. Then, Manny opens the doors to space and Humungousaur – and their ship – is sent spiralling into the abyss.

Evie watches through the window as her 'boyfriend' is ejected into space.

It hurts her heart.

"I can't believe we won," Helen breathes.

"I can't believe we just blew Ben Tennyson into outer space," murmurs Alan sliding down the wall.

"I can't believe that my boyfriend turned into a rampaging psychopath," Evie says, sinking to the floor next to him and feeling a little dazed.

"You don't think he's …" Helen trails off.

"Humungousaur's strong enough to survive out there for a few minutes."

"Hopefully long enough for him to snap out of it," grumbles Evie, who's going from dazed to an annoying mix of 'sad' and 'angry'.

"Well, how are we supposed to get him? Our ship is gone," exclaims Manny.

Helen zips over to the controls, "I'll find Max. He'll know what to do."

"I'm starting to think Max has jumped ship or …" Evie doesn't finish but the meaning is clear.

"This can't be right," mutters Helen.

"Bad news?" asks Manny.

"Really bad news. When Manny and Rath trashed the Command Hub, the control systems took a hit. The satellite's losing orbit."

They observe the diagram and Pierce says, "if that projection is right, it's going to land in the city of London."

"Oh stars …"

"Millions of people," Alan whispers.

"Can the computer do something? Can we change the flight path?" Manny speaks desperately.

"Flight path? There's no flying involved. The satellite's gonna crash and there's no way to stop it."

"Come on, Helen, there's gotta be _something._ " Evie insists.

Pierce speaks up, voice and face grim, "I can think of one way."

Evie exchanges significant stares with the others and she has a bad feeling that she knows _exactly_ where this is going.

"We blow up the ship before it can crash."

* * *

They return to the bridge. They've already decided, really, there isn't much to discuss.

The station is shaking; the lights flash red – already they're entering the atmosphere.

"Any three Plumber's badges give us the authority to set the auto-destruct," Helen says quietly.

Silently, they all offer their badges. All willing to help.

"Leave them with me," says Manny shortly, "I'll set it to blow and join you on our ship in a couple of minutes."

"Manny," Helen says. No further words are needed.

Manny stares at her, and understanding dawns on his face, "our ship that we … blew out the airlock … I don't like where this is going …"

"But there's no other way," Alan sounds so small.

"We're not leaving this ship, guys," Evie whispers, "this is Do and Die."

Evie's scared and she's so _tired_ of being scared. She doesn't want to die – they've just been working so hard to survive! But they have no choice. They have the opportunity now to die for a worthy cause, for the greater good. Besides, when the satellite crashes, they'll die anyway. They might as well get it over with and save an entire city in the process.

"Sacrifice ourselves and save millions of lives …?" Pierce trails off.

"It's worth it," Helen finishes.

"We wanted to be Plumbers," says Alan firmly, "this is what Plumbers do."

They look to each other, Evie smiles a little, feeling her heart swell with love for her friends.

"Thanks guys," says Pierce, "we made a great team."

"It's been an honour," Evie declares, "Stars, I love you, guys."

They insert the badges.

And press the button.

Self-destruct in five-

Evie grabs Manny in an impulsive hug. He squeezes gently before releasing her and moving to stand by Helen.

Four-

Evie hugs Alan's fiery body and gives him a kiss on the cheek, the fire tickles her lips.

Three-

She gives Pierce a prickly hug and a thank you, squeezing his hand.

Two-

Evie grabs Helen and holds her tight, her dear friend.

One-

She closes her eyes, and waits for the end.

But it doesn't come.

They look around.

"I, ugh, notice we're still here," Alan says, confused.

They're all confused. The satellite was meant to blow up. Why didn't it blow up? _I was ready, now I might lose my nerve …_

"All the damage to the computer systems," Helen considers, "Maybe I can jury-rig it."

"I think I've seen enough."

 _Was that … Max?!_

Sure enough, Max Tennyson emerges from the shadows, with a grandfatherly smile on his face and not a single bruise on his body; not a grey hair out of place.

"Max?" Pierce asks, puzzled.

There's thudding outside the bridge and _Humungousaur_ squeezes in, rubbing his arms as though cold. Evie flinches back and grabs Helen's arm; waiting for him to go ape-shit crazy again.

The Omnitrix beeps and times out, leaving Tennyson human again and still rubbing his arms, "I can't belie-lie-lie-ve you guys e-e-ejected me into _space,_ " he shivers, "that's, that's j-j-just _wrong._ "

Evie doesn't have a clue what the hell's going on. She's exhausted – emotionally and physically – and she's sore and now, now she's confused. Her world's been turned on its head and shaken so much that she's not even sure if this is real.

"What's going on?" asks Pierce, he sounds as lost and uninspired as Evie feels.

Both Tennyson's walk through the group. "Let me use the emergency thrusters to put us back in a safe orbit, then I'll explain," Max says.

Evie's still clutching Helen's arm and her dark eyes never leave Ben Tennyson.

The group stays a safe distance from the two Tennyson's and watch as Max puts them back into space. Ben leans casually against the controls, emerald orbs on Evie. She stares back with wide, panicked eyes.

"This satellite isn't a storage facility, it's a training station," Ben explains.

"This was all just a _test?_ " Pierce exclaims.

"The Ben being-out-of-control-and-attacking-you was a test," Max says.

Ben looks away and continues, "but not the satellite-about-to-crash-into-London part. We really knocked this thing out of orbit."

"Cool!" declares Manny. Helen elbows him in the ribs.

"What?" he exclaims.

"You put the safety of others above your own lives," says Max proudly.

"Next stop: Plumber's Academy," grins Ben, he looks back at Evie, "what do you think?"

"What do I think?" exclaims Evie, "what the hell, Tennyson! You inconsiderate arse!"

Throughout the conversation she'd become increasingly furious. How dare he pull a stunt like this? He could have killed them! They could have killed him! She flies forward, blind with rage. She attacks him with everything she's got, raining wild blows on him. He deflects and defends every punch, though he looks appropriately startled.

"Evie, calm down!"

"No," she shrieks, "I will _not_ calm down! You jerk, I thought you'd betrayed me! I thought you were going to kill me! You let me think that, I can't believe you!"

"Evie, it was just a test, I would never _really_ hurt you!" he deflects a particularly violent punch aimed at his nose.

"Look at my face! I am practically _wearing_ bruises," she's slowing now; tired and sad. She sniffles, "also, I'm still seeing double." She rests her clenched fists on his chest. Ben reaches up to hold her hands there.

He cups her cheek, concern in his eyes, "did I give you a concussion," he frowns and hold up one hand, "how many fingers am I holding up?"

"Don't know," Evie sniffs, "you're both holding up different amounts."

"Well," he says, "you've definitely got some sort of head injury. When did that happen?"

"Probably when you smashed me into the wall with your tail."

"As Humungousaur? Ouch, I'm so sorry."

"You should be," she huffs, "it hurt."

Still, he looks so genuinely sorry that Evie feels her resolve weakening and, before she can stop herself, she hops on her tiptoes and kisses him. He holds her close in his arms and kisses her back; warm and wet and she melts, finely feeling safe. She pulls back and scowls at his boyish grin.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Tennyson," she snaps, "I'm still pissed."

"How can I make it up to you?" he asks, quietly relieved that he's even being given the opportunity to make it up to her.

"I want a pile of blankets, some hot cocoa and the latest season of Sherlock," she grimaces, "but first I want a medical centre, because your starting to get a little blurry round the edges."

"I'll get right on that … _sooo …_ Plumber's Academy … does that help make it up?"

"I'll remember the end of this day fondly," she grumbles, "but not the journey, the journey can go shoot itself out the airlock."

"So, your serious about Plumber's Academy?" Alan asks hopefully – though he politely ignores Evie's meltdown.

"Totally serious," Ben grins over her head.

"We're gonna be real Plumbers …" Helen looks dazed before growing excited and rushing in to hug Max. After a moment, Ben and Evie move into the hug as well.

"Seriously though, can I get that medical treatment now?"

* * *

 **A/N: So what do you think? Let me know if there's any grammatical/spelling/punctuation errors (I don't usually write in the present tense – it just sort of happened and I ran with it – so I'm expecting some sort of massive mistake). Seriously though, even if it's just ONE apostrophe, I wanna hear about it or if there's a sentence that you think could be phrased better … I'm open.**

 **What do ya think of the ending? Personally, I think she should have been a little angrier, but this flowed well when I wrote it. Also, the ending was a kinda weird but, whatever. It felt natural-ish.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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